Greater Manchester fire chiefs get new 4x4 cars in return for being on call 24/7 for major incidents

Fire service top brass are getting new 4x4 vehicles in return for being on call 24/7 to respond to major incidents. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service insist the move will make them one of the most "resilient" services in the country.

County Fire Officer Dave Russel, deputy Ben Norman; and three assistant county fire officers will be able to drive the cars for their own use as well. But it will also mean they will be expected to respond to serious events such as a terrorist attack, huge life-threatening fires, vast moorland blazes and flooding.

The move comes after scathing criticism of GMFRS in the Manchester Arena Inquiry report. Firefighters, who could have helped with the removal of casualties from the blast zone, eventually arrived at the arena two hours after the explosion after being held back by their own commanders.

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Last year, Mr Russel said “The Manchester Arena Inquiry volume two report has made for very difficult reading for me, as Chief Fire Officer of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and my colleagues. I want to start by wholeheartedly apologising to the families of the 22 innocent people who lost their lives on that tragic night of 22 May 2017, and to the survivors whose lives are changed forever.

“Our response that night was wholly inadequate and totally ineffective, and that will forever be a matter of deep regret for our Service. We let the families and the public down in their time of need and for that I am truly sorry.

“I know that no apology will take away the pain and suffering of the